Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is undeniably the greatest 400m hurdler in the world, but American sprint legend Justin Gatlin believes she is much more than that.
Speaking on the Run Your Race podcast, the 2004 Olympic 100m champion observed that Sydney is not your typical track and field athlete and admitted that it is every athlete’s dream to be like the 400m hurdles world record holder.
Gatlin further noted that Sydney is not after the money since she never competes in high-profile meets outside of the US, which is unlike other track and field athletes who travel overseas most of the time intending to make more money than what is offered in home meets.
At the moment, Sydney has broken the 400m hurdles world record six times with her first time achieving the feat being at the 2021 US Olympic trials where she clocked a stunning 51.90 seconds. She broke her world record for the sixth time at the Paris Olympic Games where she clocked 50.37 seconds to win the race.
She effortlessly obliterates her world records and every time she steps on the track, it is always expected that she will drop a bombshell.
Gatlin also lauded her mental strength since her career has not been all rosy and there were times she had to miss a lot of races due to injuries. In 2023, she missed her title defense bid at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary due to an injury.
